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Kristen Mullen / The Citizens' Voice
People look over photos and mementos as they pay their respects to U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian M. Patton during his wake Friday in the Greater Nanticoke Area High School gymnasium.

NANTICOKE - In a June 23 letter to his 8-year-old son Nicholas, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian M. Patton wrote, "I hope you are excited about going to Notre Dame to see a game. I am. It will be our first Notre Dame game together at their stadium."

While he was home on leave, Patton did take Nicholas to see the Fighting Irish in action. It was one of the last activities the 37-year-old naval reservist would have the opportunity to enjoy with his son.

Patton was killed Nov. 19 in a vehicle crash in Kuwait that critically injured his friend and fellow naval reservist David C. Morgan of Wilkes-Barre.

A Notre Dame wreath was among the floral tributes surrounding Patton's casket, which was flanked by an honor guard of his Navy comrades at his wake in the Greater Nanticoke Area High School gym Friday night.

Patton was deployed to Kuwait in March in the capacity of a military police officer. Beside a table of mementos including the letter to Nicholas - which ends, "Well, be good for Mommy and don't forget I love you" - and photographs of Patton with family members before his leave ended on Oct. 30, hung the flag that flew at Camp Buehring on Nov. 19.

Hundreds of Patton's friends, family members, Navy personnel and colleagues from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections - he was a guard at the State Correctional Institution in Dallas - showed up Friday to pay final respects.

"I can't believe how many friends he had," said his cousin Ashley Makarczyk.

In Patton's memory, she had compiled a slide show of photographs, accompanied by some favorite music: songs played at his wedding, Toby Keith tunes.

"He was huge on family," Makarczyk said. "All the pictures I found were family. That's one thing I noticed."

The pictures she chose celebrated Patton as a beloved husband, father, friend and proud member of the Navy. They illustrated how Patton liked to spend time with his family and party with his friends. Makarczyk said she heard stories about his days at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he earned degrees in criminal justice and finance. He roomed there for a year with her brother Brent.

There were photos of Patton with his relatives, including his brothers Robert and Scott. He was born in Nanticoke, but his family moved to the Chicago area when he was growing up. There were pictures of Patton as a boy: in baseball and football uniforms, at Disney World.

Then came Patton as a young man, smiling with his new bride, Amy Beth Hynoski, at their Nov. 18, 2000 wedding. There were photos of Patton with his sons, Brian J. - now 19 - and Nicholas, as babies.

Putting the slideshow together was hard, Makarczyk said. It was surreal that the cousin she had seen just recently when he was on leave was gone, leaving only memories.

But, she said, what made it easier was "knowing he was such a fun person."

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

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